Sydney Roosters star Mitchell Pearce’s latest behavioural indiscretion and his likely suspension from the NRL will send major reverberations around the rugby league world. The league itself seems to have little choice but to suspend Pearce for a significant amount of time.

The precedent was been set in stone by the fate of Todd Carney and Blake Ferguson in recent years. Pearce’s suspension is likely to tally at least a year and might even be indefinite. Ferguson was de-registered for over a season while facing criminal charges. Carney has seemingly been black-balled from the NRL over a series of distasteful incidents. He is currently undertaking legal action against his former club Cronulla.

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As is often the case, those who will likely suffer the greatest are those Pearce claims to love the most. The club which he has helped guide to three straight minor premierships and the 2013 NRL title is now a club in disarray. In a practical sense, most troubling for the Roosters in 2016 – a side that is considered one of the premiership favourites – will most likely enter the season with a halves combination of Jackson Hastings and Jayden Nikorima, who have started a grand total of four NRL games between them.

Bookmakers have rightly suspended premiership betting. The Roosters will be big drifters when it re-opens. Hastings is a player of immense promise but at the tender age of 20 was most likely earmarked to be gradually eased into action in support of the more experienced Pearce in 2016. He will now likely be the senior half, having started only four games last season following the Roosters’ decision to let former Origin star James Maloney defect to the Sharks.

Nikorima is just 19 and didn’t get a sniff of first grade at the Broncos before signing with the Roosters this off-season. And he is no certainty to see the start of the season with the Roosters reportedly dragging him into headquarters to explain his role after he was seen on the now-infamous Pearce video. Nikorima’s voice is allegedly head on the tape. There is no suggestion he behaved inappropriately.

The play-making cupboard in the eastern suburbs is now bare. The Origin halves pairing has been replaced by two unproven rookies. To further complicate matters, the Roosters also lost full-back Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to New Zealand. With Pearce’s likely suspension, Trent Robinson’s team have lost their three key playmakers, who accounted for 43 of the club’s 79 assists last year. They were the only three players with more than 10 assists.

Blake Ferguson will replace Tuivasa-Sheck at fullback. Ferguson is an undeniable talent but struggled in three games as the Raiders custodian. The flow-on continues. Strike centre Michael Jennings was released to Parramatta, replaced by the solid-yet-unspectacular Dale Copley, he of 31 tries in 72 games.

So the Roosters face an interesting dilemma now: do they chase a half for 2016 or do they continue their apparent pursuit of salary cap space in order to make a play at some big-name free agents in 2017, believed by many to be Sonny Bill Williams and Jarryd Hayne?

Luke Keary is almost certain to leave South Sydney after his falling out with owner Russell Crowe and the club’s belief that John Sutton needs to return to five-eighth to give the Rabbitohs more size. He is one option but won’t come cheap. And it is unlikely Souths would want to do their great rivals even the slightest of favours. Veteran Panther Peter Wallace is clearly not in favour with new Penrith coach Anthony Griffin and could be a short-term solution.

Raiders outcast Sam Williams is possibly the most appealing fit. He is set to play a lot of New South Wales Cup football after the recruitment of Aiden Sezer and on a reasonable salary would likely fit the Roosters’ needs while giving Williams a much-deserved opportunity at both stability and reliable coaching.

Pearce, a 26-year-old veteran of 203 games, has likely played his final game for the Sydney Roosters. He has another year remaining on his contract but the club is unlikely to stick by a player who could be forced out of the NRL for a year.

His Origin career is also surely at an end. A 4-11 record and five series losses combined with his latest indescretion is likely to see Blues coach Laurie Daley move on, bringing to a close the representative career of one of New South Wales’ most maligned players.

Super League seems the most likely fate for Pearce from here. His game suits the English style and his relative anonymity off the paddock should, at the very least, keep him away from the spotlight he has so struggled to avoid during his time at Bondi Junction.

As for his future in the NRL, he is young enough to return at some point. The game could choose to forgive him but that won’t be anytime soon, as an increasingly hard-line stance on player misbehaviour takes hold.

To Pearce and his supporters, his drunken buffoonery may see nothing more than a matter for those present in the room. But for the rugby league world – from teammates, coaches and administrators to fans, selectors and punters – the tremors are only just beginning to be felt.